Aqua Adicta Watersports

About Aqua Adicta

We are Julian & Lesley Singleton, we moved out to the Mar Menor in 2005 attracted by the amazing conditions for watersports of all kinds. It offers safe calm waters ideal for beginners and children but also reliable stronger winds in the afternoon suitable for those with more experience.

Julian worked as a RYA Senior Instructor and taught dinghy sailing within RYA recognised centres in the UK for several years before starting our business in Spain. Julian is also an experienced windsurfer and he has been teaching both sailing and windsurfing for over 14 years. Julian is a very patient teacher and most students make excellent progress with his flexible approach.

Lesley is also an experienced sailor and kayaker and has been teaching both for over 12 years. Lesley is particularly good at helping those who lack confidence on the water. She has a keen interest in the local environment and will provide an insight into the wildlife, geology and history of the area while leading kayak trips on the Mar Menor.

We both love teaching and get a huge amount of pleasure from seeing our students succeed. We also recognise that most of you are on holiday and really want to get out and have fun while you are learning so we try to keep our lessons entertaining and stress free!

Why Choose Aqua Adicta

Although professional watersports instruction is promised at many holiday destinations, our experience and that of many of our clients is that, it often falls short of expectations. Instructors are often young students who are hired for a season and are more interested in enjoying themselves than teaching. Groups are large and individual assistance can rarely be given unless additional tuition is paid for.

All instruction at Aqua Adicta is given by Julian or Lesley who will do their utmost to ensure you have a good time and learn a great deal

"Just to say thanks and how much we enjoyed the sailing at Aqua Adicta. Lesley had the right fun attitude and level of confidence and experience to make it really enjoyable for myself, Tracy and Jack."

Our Facilities and Equipment

We operate from our house which is located 50 meters from our boat lane on the beach. At the house we have changing facilities, shower and toilet for the use of clients. We can lock up any valuables while you are out on the water.

There are three cafes located on the beach, one is located just next to our boat lane. This is a great spot for family members to relax if they are not taking part, or for you to enjoy a drink after you have been out on the water. Mar de Cristal also has a great beach for swimming and sunbathing.

We provide buoyancy aids for all activities, we also have wetsuits and spray tops which may be used during the early and late season. The use of all of these is included in the price of the tuition.

Teaching Philosophy - Dinghy Sailing

We normally teach novice sailors in a boat accompanied by an instructor, rather than in single-handed dinghies with an instructor in a power boat; we do do this for the following reasons:

1. It is much easier to teach when you can communicate easily and demonstrate what you want the student to do. Shouting over the noise of a power boat and trying to describe everything verbally does not work well, especially in windy conditions.

2. It is very likely that students will capsize small boats while learning to sail and also get into difficulties while trying to work things out. This can lead to panic and put some people off sailing for good.

3. The instructor can't see clearly what students are doing from a distance and bad habits go uncorrected. This can prevent the student making the level of progress that they should.

4. It is far safer, as if necessary, the instructor can take over and get the boat back to shore quickly.

Many sailing schools do teach beginners in single-handed dinghies, this is mainly because one instructor can teach a large group, thus making it more profitable!

We do have a single-handed dinghy, a Topper Topaz (this is Toppers version of the Laser Pico but faster and more spacious). We only move people into the single-handed dinghy once they have demonstrated they can sail safely. We provide them with coaching during their first session and then let them out alone as soon as they are ready.

Our normal teaching boat is a Pastinaca, this is a locally made Spanish boat which is similar to a small wayfarer. This boat is spacious and very stable, hence its suitability for teaching.

Teaching Children - Dinghy Sailing

Many sailing schools teach children in large groups with one or two children in a small boat (like a Pico) while the instructor is on a powerboat. These type of classes can last all day, however a large amount of time is spent "playing" and the instructor spends most of their time managing the group to ensure the children remain safe rather than having many opportunities to teach. The children in these situations mainly learn by themselves and pretty much make it up as they go along.

We do not teach like this for the reasons given above in our Teaching Philosophy. We provide children with the same quality of tuition as adults and therefore we do not discount lessons for children.

We normally require that children aged 12 and under are accompanied by an adult for sailing lessons as this ensures we have sufficient crew weight and extra strength on board in case the wind picks up. This is not necessary if the sailing lesson is part of a multi-activity package as then we have the possibility to switch around activities and ensure we have light winds.

Safety

We take safety very seriously.

All clients will be provided with buoyancy aids

Children will be provided with helmets while sailing single-handed.

A power boat is available to provide safety cover for our activities.

We carry a first aid kit and a mobile phone at all times.

RYA Training Centre

We have explored the possibility of becoming an RYA recognised training centre, however, due to our small size this is simply not financially or practically possible. All our courses are based on the RYA syllabus and we provide progress sheets which we check off throughout the course. Since Julian worked as a RYA Senior Instructor in the UK he has plenty of experience to draw from.

If you wish to take another course or have your qualification accepted by a sailing club you can use your progress sheet to show in detail what you have learned, the boat you used and the wind conditions you experienced. If the club or training centre would like the qualification verified, simply get them to email us or call and we can let them know the standards we work to.

We pride ourselves in providing high quality tuition in a flexible and safe environment. Many of our students come back year after year. We both love teaching and take great pleasure in seeing our students progress.